Alfine 8 corroded bearings?

Hey all, I recently bought a used Alfine 8 wheel for my Pugsley and upon opening the hub I found quite a bit of rust on the larger bearing retainer ring. I soaked the internals and bearings, cleaned everything up as best I could without a total disassembly, gave the hub a dip in ATF (thanks to all the great info on these threads) then repacked the somewhat shot bearings and put it all back together. The hub ran well, but those rusty bearings were in the back of my mind and the hub was a bit noisy freewheeling. I couldn't find new bearing rings in the US (including my LBS), so I had to order online from across the pond.

After a month or so of use and receiving the new bearings, I opened up the hub again to replace the bearings. Again, I found a bit of rusty colored ATF from the corroded bearings. The races on the hub shell were slightly pitted as well.

Are all you alfine 8 owners experiencing similar corrosion inside your alfine 8 hubs? Since I don't know the history of this hub, its hard to know if this issue is specific to my hub. If I had to guess, either the hub sat for a while after a wet ride or the reverse threaded black plastic cap has questionable seals. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this?...

The hub runs a lot smoother now with the new bearings and so far I'm impressed with the hub. Pictures of the new/old bearings and slightly pitted race below.

My 1st Alfine-8 had corrosion on the large bearing, almost from day one - I understood it was an issue with the early produaction runs, and was supose to be fixed. I never warrenteed it, it still runs, but rumbles when coasting - the race is badly pitted. Like most cup & cone setups, you can probably run it indefinitely if you can put up with the rough bearings.

The seals are not great, so it's a good idea to keep the large bearing race packed properly with grease.

thanks, good info. I'll keep an eye on the bearings and service regularly. After taking the hub apart a couple times, its a piece of cake now. I may try some heavier grease in the warmer months and see how it works. I don't have anything to lose on a used hub like this.